*putting my hat out like a little orphan beggar* please, miss kaph....some fixpoint,,,,if you'd be so kind <3
The sun is setting by the time he reaches camp, two days later. Along the way he doodles some new herbs, offers a poor woman a ride back to her town after heaving a dead horse off her leg, and accidentally tramples a fat turkey under his horseās hooves, which he picks up and ties to her saddle. The horse is a wild mustang he found and tamed impromptu off the side of the road, because for some reason Boadicea wasnāt waiting for him outside the lab - but Arthurās not too worried. Sheās been nicked before, but has always found her way back to camp. A smart devil, she is.
All in all he has a pretty good time, and by the time the lush greenery surrounding Shady Belle comes into view, with not a hint of pain on his body to remind him, Arthur has all but forgotten about the whole little life-and-death situation he experienced back at the lab.
That is, until he spots the all too familiar figure standing vigilant guard in the shadows of the trees, and all of a sudden all the guilt and despair heād felt in that split second of electric shock comes flooding back to him.
Charles watches him as Arthur kicks his horse into a trot. Arthur canāt quite make out his expression, the sun now just dipping beneath the horizon, but he thinks Charles hesitates, something uncertain flitting across his face.
āArthur,ā Charles greets, when Arthur is within speaking distance. āFinally cut your hair, hm?ā
Arthur blinks, pausing mid dismount. āHuh?ā he says smartly, shaking his boot loose of the stirrup. Then remembers he had his hair trimmed a week or two ago, when Charles had been more or less busy out of camp-and Arthur has very fond memories about the night he came back-from barely touching the collar of his shirt to cropped at his nape again. Heās surprised Charles even notices the minute change. He reaches up to rake a hand carelessly through it, tousling it even more than the wind already has, and Charles watches the motion. āYeah. Was getting kinda long.ā
Patting his horse on the rump to usher her towards the herd, he closes the few steps between himself and Charles, and presses a quick kiss to his lips, a hand coming up to cup his cheek.
āMissed you,ā he says softly. āAlmost didnāt make it back here alive to tell you that.ā
Many things happen at once.
In the time it takes for him to complete his sentence, he realises that Charles hasnāt kissed back. Hasn't moved a muscle. In fact, heās frozen under Arthurās palm, entire body going still where he stands, and when Arthur looks up from his lips heās met with brown eyes burning with bright hot fury. Heās only seen that kind of anger once, back when they confronted the bison poachers, and not once has he ever thought heād be on the receiving end of that wrath.
Then Charlesās hand is fisted in Arthurās shirt collar.
āYou will not,ā Charles breaths, ātry that with me ever again.ā
Arthurās mind goes blank. Thereās confusion, mixed with hurt, with alarm, then Charlesās other hand is pulling back, and before Arthur can process what his sweet, gentle lover is about to do, the fist connects square with his jaw.